i am the mastermind (underline mastermind)
by DeanGirl2Y5
Summary: descending is easier than climbing. or the fall (and recovery) of the Ultimate Cover Singer, Sato Emi.
1. open the walls, play with your dolls

**WARNING: Contains cheating, blood and gore, character death, and implied/referenced bullying.** There are also some spoilers to Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy Side Despair.

 **A/N:** Welcome to my first attempt at a Danganronpa fic! And it's a mastermind au fic, too! (Well, Junko's still the mastermind, but I digress.) It features my Danganronpa OC, the Ultimate Cover Singer Sato Emi (originally the Ultimate Gamer, but I changed my mind)! This can and will contain spoilers to Trigger Happy Havoc, Ultra Despair Girls, and Super Danganronpa 2.

There may even be references to The End of Hope's Peak Academy. Heck, this first chapter alone is practically side: Despair. If you haven't played the games/watched someone play them/seen the anime, I _highly_ recommend you do so. The Let's Player I personally recommend is NicoB.

Also, as this game was originally in Japanese, the names are going to be written as last name first name. For example: _Naegi Makoto._

This was originally cross-posted on AO3, Tumblr, and Wattpad as a trilogy of one-chaptered fics (ending with the implied recovery), but it's grown into a five part series, with one part telling a different side of this story, AKA Side Naegi. And that'll be posted once this is finished.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing besides the story, Sato Emi, and her backstory. Title comes from "Dollhouse" by Melanie Martinez. "I Want To Break Free" is owned by Queen. I just play in the despair-filled pepto bismol colored sandbox known as Danganronpa.

Constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated! Translations and fun facts are at the end, but don't go skipping ahead!

 _ **Chapter Summary:** "She choked back silent tears as he kissed a girl that wasn't her. A girl that was much prettier than her, who didn't bury herself in song lyrics and notes."_

 _or; Emi Sato's descent into despair._

* * *

 **open the walls, play with your dolls (we'll be a perfect family)**

 _Places, places, get in your places_  
 _Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces._  
 _Everyone thinks that we're perfect_  
 _Please don't let them look through the curtains._

 ** _"Dollhouse" - Melanie Martinez_**

It was no secret Sato Noriko loved to sing.

She sang in the car on her way to work, while she did the dishes and cleaned the house, and to her only daughter Emi.

However, the singing stopped and the yelling started when Emi turned five.

Singing became little Emi's escape, her distraction. Along with hanging out at her Uncle Takumi's (or, as she called him, "Unca Kumi") bar. She'd sit at the counter and draw random pictures (while quietly singing under her breath) that Unca Kumi would hang up behind the bar. No one really bothered her...

...until Unca Kumi bought the karaoke machine two months after Emi's sixth birthday.

The only people that attempted to sing were drunks.

Then Emi decided to try. She'd finished what homework she had to do and, when no other drunk got up and Uncle Takumi wasn't looking, climbed up on stage. She picked a random song and started singing it, catching everyone's attention.

Suffice to say, Uncle Takumi was surprised when he realized it was his niece singing, and later, when he told his brother and sister-in-law about it, the two didn't believe him. Until they came the next time to pick her up.

And the yelling stopped, and Noriko began singing to Emi again, with the older woman encouraging her daughter to sing along.

 **/**

In fourth grade, her music teacher (who was also the choir teacher) convinced her to join the choir and do some solos (and she did). Honestly, Emi wanted her classmates and upperclassmen to have the spotlight more, and she told them this.

However, this didn't convince them, and they believed that she just wanted the spotlight on her at all times. She was the last to be picked when they were playing a team sport in gym class, and the one that got saddled with her groaned even though she was a perfectly capable team player.

They called her "Princess Emi" behind her back, but she heard it.

Still, she tried to make friends, but they just made it a point to stay away from her. So, she hid behind her auburn hair and became the shy, quiet girl who barely spoke a word in class.

That didn't stop them from calling her Princess Emi.

However, she still did solos for choir occasionally, but she sang more at Uncle Takumi's bar. The patrons liked hearing her sing.

They didn't judge her or call her Princess Emi. To them, she was just Takumi's niece, and she liked that.

The bar became her escape from school.

Apparently, someone at the bar recorded her singing one night, and she became an overnight sensation, almost as popular as Maizono Sayaka and her band. That was when her parents began entering her into different talent competitions around the country. Mom and Aunt Mika picked out her outfits. Dad and Uncle Takumi picked out what songs she'd sing without any input from her. Mom became her manager.

The first few times, she complained about it. She wanted to pick _her own songs._ She wanted to pick _her own outfits._

 _We're doing this for your own good,_ they said.

That was when singing became an escape from life.

 **/**

Getting accepted into the academy felt like a dream come true. Emi could finally make some friends and never again be called Princess Emi. That meant not singing at the bar as much, but she didn't care.

Then again, the only reason she got accepted to Hope's Peak was _because_ of her singing at the bar.

It didn't stop her from going out to the nearest store, buying permanent purple hair dye, and adding purple streaks to her hair.

Mom freaked out over it at first _(At least she didn't dye_ all _her hair,_ Aunt Mika reassured her. She'd thought about it, honestly), but Emi just wanted to mentally and physically reassure herself that this was a new start.

 **/**

She ran into him on her first day at Hope's Peak. Thin with light brown hair with an ahoge and pale hazel eyes. He didn't look very remarkable, but there was something about him that caught her attention as he helped her pick up her fallen books. Something that made her think _beautiful._

The boy kept murmuring apologies to her, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Emi smiled at him. "It's alright. Naegi-kun, right?" she reassured.

Naegi nodded. "And you're Sato-san, the Ultimate Cover Singer." His blush darkened.

She nodded this time. "So, Naegi-kun, I believe you owe me a walk to homeroom."

Little did she realize it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 **/**

Their whole class had gone through their introductions, along with their talents.

Idol, swimmer, heir, wrestler, detective, fortune-teller, programmer. Fashion girl, baseball player, hall monitor, gang leader. Gambler, doujin author, literary girl, soldier, cover singer.

Naegi, however, didn't give his talent freely.

 _("I'm Naegi Makoto._ Hajimemashite," _he said with a grin before changing the subject.)_

It's only when everyone was talking that Emi decided to ask, "Hey, Naegi-kun, what's your talent?"

That was when he looked at her like he was turning the words over and over in his mind. He had a five-mile long stare that went nowhere, and, when he smiled faintly, it was something painful and self-aware.

It was a look she recognized because she saw it every single time her former classmates alienated her from different games and activities.

"Luck," he said it like a curse, like an anathema stamped across his face, his own personal label created by the school. "I got here by pure, dumb luck."

The words were a bitter pill on his tongue, and, just like that look, she understood that bitter pill.

(little did she realize Enoshima Junko was listening to their conversation intently, grinning as she tapped her red-lacqured nails on her chin in thought.)

 **/**

It took Emi three months to realize her true feelings toward Naegi.

Three months then it hit her like a train.

It took two more months for their first kiss.

Right in the middle of the hallway, no less.

She didn't know who initiated it, and she didn't bother to care.

(there were bills passed to a smirking Celestia behind their backs. she wasn't called the Ultimate Gambler for nothing.)

 **/**

Sometimes, she sang at upscale clubs that her new friend (and upperclassman) Mioda Ibuki introduced her to (Mioda-san plays the guitar while Emi sings). Mostly for money.

It was the cleanest break Emi could get from her last school, from being called Princess Emi. Unbeknownst to her, Mioda started acting distant and started pushing her away until she was back to singing at Uncle Takumi's bar.

 **/**

Six months.

They were together for six months.

Emi had just come back from the finals of a talent competition that took place outside of the country (her parents had pulled her out of school, with permission from Headmaster Kirigiri), and she found something at a gift shop that made her think of him. She'd won, of course.

(he'd always cheered for her while watching her on TV.)

Emi rounded the corner, bags in hand, and that was when she saw them.

Naegi Makoto was kissing another girl, and he looked to be enjoying it. The girl had him shoved up against the wall, her fingers threading through his light brown locks. His hands, on the other hand, were gripping strawberry blond hair done up in twintails.

She choked back silent tears as he kissed a girl that wasn't her. A girl that was much prettier than her, who didn't bury herself in song lyrics and notes.

She never made a sound as she walked away from them, only running when they were out of sight...

...until someone knocks her out.

 **/**

She's stopped singing and going to competitions. She's stopped being Sato Emi.

She's Emi-chan. Enoshima's and Naegi's Emi-chan.

The only songs she sings are the ones Enoshima-sama creates.

 _Songs about despair._

And Enoshima-sama loves it, loves her.

 **/**

Sunglasses on (don't wanna spoil the surprise just yet, Enoshima-sama would say).

Monokuma mask on the side of her head.

She has a job to do. Enoshima-sama wants her to prove just how much Emi-chan loves both her and Mako-kun.

Emi-chan picks up the knife. She's wearing a dark robe over her clothes to protect them from getting bloody. She only has less than a minute before the tied-up couple in front of her wakes up. She has a camera set up right in front of them (it was what Mako-kun wanted, ,and what Mako-kun wants, he gets. Same with Enoshima-sama because she _loves_ them).

They're stirring, and she moves to stand in the shadows. Kenta wakes up first, his dark brown eyes quickly looking around as he struggles to break free. Noriko wakes up second, also struggling, her emerald eyes wide as she panics.

Emi-chan walks out of the shadows, pulling off her sunglasses to reveal her now-red eyes (not quite the same as Enoshima-sama's, but the Fashionista _loves_ them just the same, a perfect match for her hair). The knife is behind her back, and she coats it with the poison that's covering her gloved hand (some kind of snake venom. Tsumiki had gotten it for her at Enoshima-sama's request). She can feel their relief and hope turn to shock and despair at the sight of her eyes.

"Hello, Mom, Dad. Miss me?" she inquires with a predatory grin before slicing Kenta's throat and stabbing Noriko in the chest, pink blood splattering her clothes, and, face, and shoes as her mother screams in pain.

And she doesn't care as she sings "I Want to Break Free" by Queen (Enoshima-sama's personal request).

"Love you," Emi-chan lies before walking away, as Noriko coughs up blood.

 **/**

At the end of the world, Emi-chan's helping Enoshima-sama and Mako-kun erase the past two years from their classmates' memories. Ikusaba is there as well, dressed up as her sister.

Of course, Mako-kun is going to participate, but he wants to join their classmates in their blissful ignorance.

Emi-chan, however, is ordered to leave the school and join Mioda and Saionji in their despair spreading. Enoshima-sama gives her a phone that only she can call whenever she wants. However, Emi-chan can't call her.

Enoshima-sama is the first to give her a kiss before she leaves, followed by Mako-kun before he climbs into the machine and Emi-chan leaves through the last open exit.

* * *

 **Translation(s):**  
Hajimemashite - Nice to meet you.

 **NOTE:** The reason why Ibuki grew distant with Emi was a combination of the murders of Kuzuryu Natsumi & Satou (AKA Twilight Syndrome Murder Case) and Junko's involvement.

 **FUN FACT:** In the original draft of this, where Emi is the Ultimate Gamer, Ikusaba is killed during the Student Council Killing Game, and Emi is the one that gets her memory erased. However, part two was where I had some trouble, but I'll go into that later.


	2. intelligent by design (makes me cry)

**WARNING: This fic contains people committing suicide, blood and gore, murder, implied/referenced character death, implied/referenced sex** (author can't write smut for beans, okay?) **, and guns. If you are triggered by _any_ of these things, please close this fic right now. **There will also be spoilers to Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc/Danganronpa the Animation. You've been warned.

 **A/N:** Welcome to part two of the _i am the mastermind (underline mastermind)_ series!

As mentioned in the warnings, there will be Trigger Happy Havoc spoilers, so either go play the game or watch someone play it! Also, as per usual in the Danganronpa series, there will be gore. AKA listen to the tags! I gave this series a Mature rating for a reason! I may up the rating for this one and the next part up to Explicit later on. I don't know yet since I haven't rewritten part three yet.

Like for the previous chapter, the names are going to be written as last name first name. For example: _Naegi Makoto._

Translation, notes, and fun facts are on the bottom.

Italics, in this particular fic, aren't flashbacks. They're point of view switches because, instead of just retelling the entirety of Trigger Happy Havoc (with a twist!), I decided to write different POVs to compensate. Essentially, this story is told from Makoto's, Junko's, and Emi's points of view, but mostly Makoto's and Emi's. And, if Junko seems OOC, I apologize. I realize that she doesn't care about anything except despair, but Naeshima is one of my Danganronpa ships (the others being Hajime/Chiaki, Kuzupeko, and Akane/Nekomaru), okay?

 **DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing but Sato Emi, her family, and backstory. The Danganronpa series is owned by Spike Chunsoft. The only Danganronpa related things I own are a pair of gloves with Monokuma's face on them, a Monokuma plushie, copies of the Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair soundtracks, and digital copies of Trigger Happy Havoc, Goodbye Despair, and the V3 demo. Title for this fic (and the series itself) comes from "Mastermind" by Mindless Self Indulgence.

Constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated, as per usual!

 _ **Chapter Summary:**_ _"'upupupupu. guess who?'"_

 _Or; an alternate take on the Killing School Life (feat. the outside world)._

* * *

 **intelligent by design (it makes me wanna cry)**

 _I am the mastermind_  
 _Underline mastermind_  
 _Until your pencil breaks_  
 _I am the mastermind_  
 _Just like a suicide_  
 _Your credit has been denied_  
 _De...NIED!_

 ** _"Mastermind" - Mindless Self Indulgence_**

The sixteen students introduce themselves, and Naegi Makoto mentally lists their talents.

Maizono Sayaka, Asahina Aoi, Togami Byakuya, Oogami Sakura, Hagakure Yasuhiro, Fujisaki Chihiro. Enoshima Junko, Kuwata Leon, Ishimaru Kiyotaka, Owada Mondo. Celestia Ludenberg _(Celes,_ he mentally fixes), Yamada Hifumi, Fukawa Touko, and Kirigiri Kyouko.

Idol, swimmer, heir, wrestler, fortune-teller, programmer. Fashion girl, baseball player, hall monitor, gang leader. Gambler, doujin author, literary girl, and unknown.

Makoto decides to introduce himself last and says with a grin, "My name is Naegi Makoto. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student." His talent feels like a bitter pill, and he doesn't understand it. Shaking it off, he begins a conversation with Maizono.

 **/**

 _Outside the academy, a teen girl with shoulder-length red and purple hair (she cut it two weeks ago) and red eyes intently watches Naegi Makoto chat with Maizono Sayaka, her eyes narrowed in a glare._

 _Unfortunately, it's not her turn yet. Her multi-colored haired senpai and partner-in-despair is on stage, singing while their other partner dances. Their concerts are always beautiful to watch._

 _The arena always smells like gunpowder and blood at the end._

 _She usually does the background vocals, but there are times when she's in the direct spotlight, and that's what she loves the most. So full of despair, and the redhead loves it._

 _That's when she gets a text on her phone._

'it's soo despairing seeing him and not being able to touch him, isn't it emi-chan?'

 _She clenches her free hand into a fist, and she sends back a quick_ 'yes' _in reply._

 _The reply of the person on the other end is just as quick, almost as if she'd had it ready from the get-go._

'i understand, my sweet little emi-chan.'

 _And she almost purrs at that, but she looks back at the screen and glares at the Ultimate Idol._

 _Maybe she should come to one of their concerts. Maybe—_

 _Ibuki's voice pulls her out of her train of thought. The former Ultimate Musician is practically grinning as she says, "It's clean-up time, Em!"_

 _Emi grins back as she stands up. "I think we should send invites to my aunt and uncle! Let them in on the fun!" she replies._

 _Mioda gives a thumbs up, her grin widening as the two walked out of the room._

 **/**

From the moment Monokuma appears and announces the killing game, Makoto knows his purpose, and his brain immediately accepts it as fact. It's a way to shrug off the title of Ultimate Luckster (he mentally shudders at the title, since he can't exactly do it _physically)._

He's in a school filled almost to the brim with despair, littered with suspicion and fear. Who wouldn't take it on themselves to spread hope? He'd be the person they'd all turn to, the glue that kept everyone together.

It's perfectly natural to try and protect his friends, he knows, even though they barely know each other. Some of them even made it crystal clear that they don't like him, they're his _friends_ and he needs to _protect them._ His mind is very insistent about that, and he doesn't question it; after all, why would he? Who would lie to himself?

(something barely noticeable behind the thick fog in his mind whispers there's more to this than it seems. yet the voice is so low he can barely hear it.)

 **/**

 _Emi is standing on stage, wearing a skeleton feather print tank top covered by a faux leather zip-up motorcycle jacket, a black leather bracelet with an oil slick heart on her right wrist, rose gold music note necklace, ripped denim shorts, and black Converse. A microphone is in her hand, and she's standing under the spotlight. Ibuki is standing behind her, guitar at the ready. On her left is Saionji, holding her fans._

 _The crowd is silent, and she can see Uncle Takumi and Aunt Mika standing right in front of her. Both of their faces give away their shock._

 _Luckily, she and Ibuki have a song prepared (the two of them wrote it in Ibuki's apartment) as Emi calls out, "This song is dedicated to my Uncle Takumi and Aunt Mika, who are standing right there." She points at them with a grin._

 _Then she begins to sing, Ibuki harmonizing while playing on her bone guitar (she loves that thing. Emi does too, to be honest). When they end the first verse, people are sobbing, including Uncle Takumi and Aunt Mika (though they both look so confused). Emi hears a few gunshots, and she smiles so widely that she thinks her face might_ crack.

 _Her aunt and uncle, however, look so panicked, but Emi and Ibuki keep singing and, by the end of the chorus, there are several bodies hanging from the trees around the stage, and gunshots echo every few seconds. Tears fill Emi's eyes even when she sees that her aunt and uncle are still alive._

 _She can barely hear them begging her to stop, asking her_ whywhywhy.

 _However, she jumps off the stage, her Converse shoes getting covered in pink blood as she sings directly in front of their faces. It doesn't take long for them to shoot and kill each other, their blood splattering all over Emi's clothes, but she doesn't care, and the two musicians finish their song._

 _It's only during the clean-up that Emi gets the magic text and, after apologizing to both Ibuki and Saionji, she runs off like a shot toward Hope's Peak._

'it's time for your reward, emi-chan.'

 **/**

The moment Monokuma tells them to come to the computer lab several days later makes him feel semi-nervous.

Of course, he's bonded with most of his classmates (finding out Kuwata hates playing baseball made him seethe for hours afterward with hate for the baseball player, and he doesn't know or understand why), so he hopes whatever the robotic bear has planned won't cause a murder like he wants.

On the table closest to the door is a box of DVDs, each labelled with their names.

Makoto takes his and sits next to Maizono (the Idol had made herself his assistant on the first day). His hand shakes slightly and his heart pounds as he inserts the disc.

The image that shows up is of his parents and younger sister Komaru sitting on the couch in their living room.

 _"Have fun at Hope's Peak, Makoto!"_ Mom states cheerfully, making Makoto blush.

Dad gives a thumb's up to the camera, saying, _"I know you'll make us proud!"_

Komaru grins and waves at the camera. _"I miss you already, onii-chan!"_ she says.

Makoto smiles, forgetting about Monokuma and the Killing School Life he and his friends are trapped in...

...until reality (and despair) hits him like a freight train.

He hears the static for a brief second, and his smile fades. Once it goes away, his parents and sister are gone and the living room is disheveled. He gasps and covers his mouth to prevent himself from screaming.

 _I have to get outta here,_ he thinks. _I need to get outta here!_

His heart is pounding.

(behind that thick fog, a voice laughs, and, like before, he doesn't notice.)

One person screams, and a chair falls over. Makoto looks up and sees that it's Maizono. The idol runs out of the room, and the Luckster follows. He's been hanging out with here more than anyone else, he realizes. Maybe it's because of that crush he (used to have) has on her.

"I'll help you leave," he promises.

 **/**

 _They're not gonna remember this, the strawberry blond decides. She's sitting on her throne in the class court room._

 _It's been two days since she gave the first motive, and no murders have happened. So, she decided it was high time she entertain herself._

 _How?_

 _By kidnapping three of the players in her game, including one she'd already claimed as hers before it all started. Along with sending a certain redhead a text._

 _Besides, her little Emi-chan deserved a reward._ Especially _after sending her three recordings of their despair concerts, including their most recent one._

 _So far, none of the three boys have done a damn thing to entertain her while she waits for her little cover girl to come over. Thank sweet god that her dumb, ugly sister is watching for her._

 _"You jackasses are taking too long!" she calls out in that jarringly shrill voice of hers. "What's with you guys?_ Ugh!"

 _Currently, she's not sitting like a lady because she loves to make boys squirm._

 _And, good god, do they ever._

 _The gawdy redhead on the right is literally staring at her black lace panties. Same thing with the small one._

 _It's not too much of a surprise to her, really. Though he doesn't remember, his body sure does._

 _Yet, she still sinks into her seat, palm eating her cheek and face stricken with a pout. "I can't stand waiting! I just can't stand it! I might have to do something_ fun _to keep myself from dying of boredom."_

 _Before anyone could say anything, a familiar redhead skips into the room, pink splotches on her clothes and shoes. The redhead stops right in front of the blond._

 _"I came as soon as I got your text, Enoshima-sama," she states shyly, twirling a lock of purple hair around her finger._

 _The three behind her are shocked, to say the least. The Luckster, however, is squinting at the sight of her, almost like he barely recognizes the purple and auburn-haired girl in front of him._

 _The mastermind claps and practically jumps off the throne (ignoring the three boys' sigh of relief) before kissing the former Ultimate Cover Songstress right on the lips, grabbing her by her bloodied shirt. Emi-chan sighs and grabs the blond's twintails as her eyes slide shut in bliss._

 _The blond, however, opens one eye and sees all three resume their squirming, apparently loving the show._

 _Another reason why she texted Emi-chan. She knows most boys are fans of girl on girl action. However, she didn't like sharing her cover singer with anyone but her co-mastermind. She knows Emi-chan was his first, after all, and completely despairs over that fact._

 _And_ loves _it._

 _The blond is the one to break the kiss, pink blood on her fingers. Emi-chan's panting and purrs when the blond gently pets her head._

 _She looks over at the three boys and sees that it's the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, Togami Byakuya, who has pissed his pants just like she wanted, and she lets out a full-out laugh. Togami, however, flushes red in embarrassment._

 _"That was only part one of your reward, Emi-chan," she states with a wide grin. "Ready for part two?" Her grin turns almost predatory._

 _Emi-chan's grin mirrors hers as she nods, and they both look over at Naegi Makoto._

 _Yeah, those three aren't gonna remember this._

 **/**

Sad. Angry. Shocked. Determined.

You name it. Naegi Makoto felt it when he found Maizono's body in his bathroom. He hates to think this, but one of his friends had killed her. That made him so _furious_. He's so outraged on behalf of his deceased classmate, so blood-boilingly _angry_ that he thought he could just kill them all.

But, they are still all his friends, he needs to protect and believe in them (his brain pushes this with all of it's strength), and to think that someone had betrayed that trust... was he really worth that little.

Sixteen has gone down to fourteen, and, after this trial, that number will go down to thirteen.

He spares a moment before he enters the elevator (everyone else is already inside) to honor Enoshima, remembering her death with his head bowed. She'd sacrificed herself to avoid this trial, to avoid despair, and had been struck down because of it. It was...ironic? No, that isn't the right word. 'Sad' didn't seem to do the scenario much justice either. He guesses that made her death...despair-inducing? She dared to stand up for hope and was slaughtered instantly because of it. Yeah, that's pretty accurate. But he isn't going to give in! He refuses to despair, because what would the others do without him?

With that thought in mind, he enters the elevator.

(later that night, he dreams of an auburn and purple-haired girl with red eyes and a strawberry blond girl with her hair done up in twintails.)

 **/**

Thirteen went down to eleven.

Kuwata is dead (he still couldn't explain his hatred for the baseball player). Fujisaki is dead. Mondo is dead.

All Makoto could feel, besides determination and anger and hope, is despair.

(if he's despairing, why does he feel so elated by it? Why does he want to grin? Despair is bad, hope is good...right?)

 **/**

Eleven drops to eight.

Ishimaru is dead. So are Yamada and Celes.

Makoto isn't sure what to feel at this point. His emotions feel frayed and confusing. Then he sees Oogami fighting against Monokuma, and he decides it's best not to say anything about it to anyone.

To keep the harmony in the group.

Kirigiri's mad at him, but he has to make sacrifices and break his promise to her.

He weathers her anger and his own disgust at the methods he's forced himself to take, swallowing the black bile that rose in his throat at the mere thought of hope behind his fake carefree smile.

 **/**

Eight drops to seven.

Oogami is dead by her own hand. In lieu of no blackened, Monokuma kills Fujisaki's AI Alter Ego.

Thankfully, Kirigiri forgave Makoto for keeping Oogami's fight against Monokuma a secret and kisses his cheek.

 **/**

 _Emi's mood drops, and she glares at the retreating form of Kirigiri Kyouko, who she knows is the Ultimate Detective. The red-head growls, tightly clenching her glass of water._

 _Beside her, Ibuki grips her leg in comfort, and Saionji watches cracks form in the glass._

 _However, Emi still smiles at the despair of it._

 **/**

Seven is still seven.

Yet, Kirigiri warns Makoto to beware of the sixteenth student, Ikusaba Mukuro.

Seven goes back to eight.

Eight becomes nine once a body is discovered in the green house with the giant plant. The body is wearing the same clothes as the person that tried to attack him the night before.

Makoto's mind is whirling as he investigates with Kirigiri.

 _Everyone promised no more killing,_ he thinks.

(clearly one person didn't mean it, that voice whispers, and he hears it. dear God, he hears it loud and clear. but, faintly, he hears Kirigiri's voice tell him to believe in his friends, and he listens to it.)

Makoto realizes that the others believe that he did it because of the knife found at the scene.

And, for the first time since Maizono died, he has to prove his innocence.

 **/**

He's falling.

Falling down the hole opened up by Alter Ego at the end of his punishment.

He can still hear Asahina's cries as he was pulled to his execution, like the other five before him. He closes his eyes, smiling until he hits...a net?

He has no time to process this as he's suddenly shocked and he screams and passes out.

 _That's when the fog clears..._

 _That's when he remembers everything..._

 _...when he remembers the truth._

 **/**

 _Emi watches the fifth class trial. Alone._

 _Ibuki and Saionji are outside, performing on stage as Emi watches Naegi Makoto be executed._

 _And she feels broken, her soul crushed..._

 _...until Fujisaki's AI opens up a hole and Naegi falls down it._

 _Emi grins widely and claps excitedly._

 _Mako-kun is coming back._

 **/**

Acting.

That's what he does when Kirigiri saves him, thinking of what could've happened if she came a little earlier. When the fog lifted, when the truth of what he is, who's behind the game, what happened two nights before Maizono died, became clear.

He still does it, even after reuniting with the others...

...until he's alone in his room while everyone else tries to solve the puzzles he already knows the answers to.

That's when he drops the act, runs up to the control room, and throws open the door, seeing her sitting there, her strawberry blond hair done up in those twintails he couldn't believe he let himself forget about.

And he kiss her like it's the first time in a long time while she slips the cell phone into the pocket of his hoodie.

 **/**

Makoto condemns Enoshima Junko to her death, just like she wanted. He almost grins at the sight of his girlfriend's despair as she prepares to push the button, but he holds back.

Besides, that would ruin the game.

(he knows his Emi-chan is grinning in his place.)

 _Let them think hope wins the day,_ he thinks, _when despair stands with them._

He almost lets out a full belly laugh when Kirigiri gives him the title of Ultimate Hope because he _knows_ what he is, and he's not hope.

He enjoys the expressions of hope on the other's faces. Part of him wants to pull the rug right out from under them, but he has bigger fish to fry.

When the others aren't looking, he sends her one text.

 _'upupupupu. guess who? - mn'_

* * *

 **Translation(s):**  
Hajimemashite - Nice to meet you.  
Onii-chan - big brother

 **FUN FACT:** This was originally all told from Emi's POV, with some of Junko's POV thrown in, but I decided against it. Also, the text version of the laugh is pretty much Monokuma's Japanese laugh, not his English one. As much as I like his English laugh, I prefer his Japanese laugh.


	3. made it to the end of you

**_WARNING: The following fic contains one of the characters kissing a dead body, suicide references, and spoilers to Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls and Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (with a bit of a twist). Reader discretion is advised._**

 **A/N:** Welcome to the third part of _i am the mastermind (underline mastermind)_ series!

Like for the previous two parts, the names are going to be written as last name first name. For example: _Naegi Makoto._

Translations on the bottom.

Italics, in this particular fic, aren't flashbacks. They're point of view switches because, instead of just retelling the entirety of Ultra Despair Girls (with a twist!), I decided to write different POVs to compensate. Essentially, this story is told from Makoto's and Emi's points of view. Also this is _seven pages long_ according to OpenOffice.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing but Sato Emi, her family, and backstory. The Danganronpa series is owned by Spike Chunsoft. The only Danganronpa related things I own are a pair of gloves with Monokuma's face on them, a Monokuma plushie, copies of the Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair soundtracks, and digital copies of Trigger Happy Havoc, Goodbye Despair, and the V3 demo. Title for this fic comes from "Never Turn Back" by Crush 40.

Constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated, as per usual!

 _ **Chapter Summary:**_ "She really doesn't know, does she? _she wonders."_

 _or; capturing the remnants & the recovery._

* * *

 **made it to the end of you (never had a chance while i'm around)**

 _Well, now I'll never turn back, I'll never turn back_  
 _I'll never turn that way_  
 _No matter how life tries to face me_  
 _I'll turn the other way_  
 _Now and then, now and then_  
 _My head starts to spin, starts to spin_  
 _But I'll never turn back again_  
 _No! No!_  
 _From this moment on, moment on_  
 _I am moving on, moving on_  
 _And I'll never turn back_

 ** _"Never Turn Back" - Crush 40_**

Future Foundation is the one that picks them up in their helicopter.

Munakata Kyosuke, Yukizome Chisa, and Sakakura Juzo are three of the members that are there in the helicopter.

Makoto's brain immediately remembers their talents.

Student Council President, boxer, and housekeeper.

Asahina begins to cry mere moments after the helicopter takes off, and Yukizome is the one to comfort her. Only when both Munakata's and Sakakura's backs are turned is when Makoto notices it and realizes he's not the only one in Future Foundation (because, as the old saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and the group certainly is his enemy. So there's no doubt that he'd join. It's the perfect cover).

He looks down at his hands, forcing himself to keep the grin down (Kirigiri's watching, after all).

And the phone resting in his pocket is silent.

 **/**

 _Enoshima-sama is dead._

 _Emi remembers watching her execution, sitting in that room watching with Saionji and Ibuki. She remembers seeing the wide grin on her lover's face and the smirk in those beautiful pale hazel eyes as he condemns her to the true ultimate despair._

 _(you have to_ really _know Naegi Makoto to notice the small looks)_

 _Part of her wants to see it, to stare at her body, but the three of them have jobs to do. That's what she believes Enoshima-sama would want._

 _That doesn't stop her from sneaking over to the school and watching_ that group _(she can't say their name. She hates it, wants it to go away) pick them up. And she sees her friends' teacher, sees the red in her eyes (just like the other fifteen), and walks back to the stadium before anyone can take her away._

 _(because that possibility exists, and she knows it)_

 **/**

Future Foundation has done their best to give them their memories back (Makoto doesn't need it, but he fakes getting them back anyway, just for fun).

And a conversation with Kirigiri and Asahina proves they still think Ikusaba was the one who lured them to the machine.

(the truth is, it was Makoto himself, with help from Emi-chan)

However, they all remember Emi.

Watching her on the television, attending class with her, the bets they made with Celes over her and Makoto getting together...

...and the sad looks start once the list of remnants is passed out. (The former headmaster of Hope's Peak before Kirigiri's father, Tengan Kazuo, is the one that recruited him and the others to Future Foundation not long after they got their memories back.)

Her name and picture is on it, her red and purple hair (there's more purple than red now) cut to her shoulders.

 _(Mom would kill me,_ he remembers her saying before the tragedy, before the killing, while they hung out in her room. She'd said it after he suggested the idea of her completely dying her hair purple.

 _So what?_ he'd said. _It's your hair, not hers. Purple looks good on you, anyway.)_

In his dark, empty and quiet room, he cuts out her picture and puts it in his new wallet before pulling out the phone (not the one Future Foundation gave him) and quickly sending a couple texts with a wide grin.

 **/**

 _After two weeks, Saionji leaves, apparently not satisfied with dancing to corpses. Neither Ibuki nor Emi really care, and they watch her walk away without so much as a tear or hug. Honestly, the two singers preferred just singing the songs Ibuki wrote and watching the despair that followed._

 _After their first solo concert after the former Ultimate Traditional Dancer left, Emi's phone buzzes._

 _'i was right, em. purple does look good on you.'_

 _'pink looks just as good. ;)'_

 _Emi grins and, after they both are finished with the clean-up, drags Ibuki to the back room and has her help with completely dying her hair (as she's had some leftover from before the tragedy)._

 **/**

It doesn't take Makoto long to figure out who's _really_ in charge of Future Foundation. Tengan is only the figurehead (though he is the founder of the group), but Munakata is the one who holds the real power.

Kirigiri's put in charge of the fourteenth division, with Makoto as her second-in-command. The other members are Togami, Asahina, Hagakure, and Fukawa (she's not a full member, due to the unpredictability of Genocide Jack).

The order to kill the Remnants of Despair is given out by Munakata. The survivors of the Killing School Life and Yukizome cringe (Makoto's cringe is fake) at the order. However, no one questions the order as the locations of the Remnants are given.

Once again, Makoto's classmates (more Hagakure, Kirigiri, and Asahina than Togami and Fukawa) look at him with sad eyes not for the last time. Makoto looks down at the paper, seeing that (as he'd known) Emi is with Mioda.

In the most current picture of the former Ultimate Cover Singer, she's almost unrecognizable with her now-completely purple hair (there's no auburn strand to be found), crimson eyes, and wide smirk as she sings to the couple in front of her.

"Hard to believe that's her," he hears Asahina say sadly, catching his attention.

Makoto looks up at her. The meeting is over and done with, and now the five of them are on their way back to the fourteenth division's headquarters. The swimmer is looking at Emi's picture, touching the figure of the former redhead before she meets Makoto's pale eyes.

"It's worse for you, huh, Naegi-kun?"

He nods. "Yeah," he replies, not having to fake the despair he's feeling (and loves it all the same). "I hate seeing her like that, you know?" _There's_ the lie. He loves seeing her like that, seeing the pink splatters on her clothes. It's more despair-inducing knowing he has to keep up his "Ultimate Hope" persona while Emi-chan gets to sing Mioda's suicide symphonies.

Yet Asahina doesn't catch the lie (just goes to show just how well he's gotten at lying, though he still pretends to be bad at it) and gives him a sympathetic smile and pats his arm.

That's when he gets the idea and almost grins. "Maybe we could save her. Save _all_ of them. They had to have hope once. All we gotta do is bring them back!" However, he thinks he sounds like Komaeda Nagito. He doesn't want to sound as hope crazy as he does, despite the fact that he's a Remnant just like Emi.

He almost chuckles at the irony, but he holds back. (because that would spoil everything.)

"We have a more important mission to do first," Kirigiri points out, studying him.

(he almost wonders if she noticed his almost grin. almost always alone in his private room had clearly given him a false sense of security, one which Junko would surely laugh at him for if she were still alive)

Makoto pulls the other file out from under the Remnants' file and opens it, pointing to a picture of an apartment building in Towa City surrounded by Monokumas. "Saving the captives," he states, answering Hagakure's and Asahina's unspoken questions.

His sister's face pops unbidden in his head.

 **/**

 _Emi stuffs her hands in her pockets, staring up at the empty school. It's been months since she last saw this place. She knows there's a high possibility that_ that group _is somewhere, watching the building for her and her fellow remnants to come back and see their leader's (and lover's, in her's and Tsumiki's cases) corpse._

 _She still wants to see Enoshima-sama's body. That's why she's here, after all. Consequences be damned, she wants to feel the despair of seeing her lover's body. Luckily, she'd found a baggy navy blue hoodie during the last clean-up and is currently wearing it (after washing it, of course. The previous owner had shot himself during the concert, leaving pink splatters on it) with the hood up, her purple hair hidden beneath it. She'd even changed her clothes (once again, she'd gotten bloodstains on them. Usually, she wouldn't care about it as it was a sign of a concert well performed, but she forced herself to care this time)._

 _She makes her way into the academy, watching for agents along the way until she closes the door behind her. Then she makes a run for it while looking around. She even passes the dorm rooms, taking the drawing from Mako-kun's door along with Maizono's and Kirigiri's (she plans to use them for target practice. Maybe Kuzuryu would give her some guns to shoot 'em with)..._

 _...until she reaches the trash heap, Enoshima-sama's body on top._

 _(she's still looking around, watching for_ that group. _She doesn't wanna be taken away.)_

 _Emi pulls down her hood the moment she reaches the former fashionista, kneeling in the trash next to the body. Her fingers brush Enoshima-sama's face before she kisses her, smiling into it as her soul crushes with despair at the fact that the strawberry blond'll never kiss her again._

 _Then she leaves, once again pulling up the hood before sticking her bloodied hands in the pockets._

 **/**

Togami is the one who goes to the apartment building to save the hostages. Truthfully, Makoto wanted to go (mostly to see Emi-chan), but Kirigiri shot the idea down.

It's seeming like the detective wants to keep a closer eye on him (maybe she has a bit of a crush on him. poor girl, emi-chan would tear her apart). Fortunately, the only place that's private is his room (being locked in one building with your movements monitored and showed to the world practically 24/7 really puts a damper on having any sort of privacy/alone time, which is why Makoto, Asahina, Hagakure, Fukawa, Togami, and Kirigiri really love not having cameras in their rooms. It at least gives them some breathing room and privacy). His office is semi-private, only becoming private when he locks the door. He locks it only under the pretense of "it's too crowded."

He's even installed a button hidden underneath his desk that changes what the camera in his office sees (it has different image options, depending on the situation. He'd had Emi-chan ask Soda to make it for him. Of course, she didn't deliver it herself, a decision that he's proud of her for making mostly to deepen her own despair at not seeing him).

Recently, however, he's ordered Emi to go over to the Warriors of Hope headquarters whenever she's not doing her's and Mioda's concerts, mostly to keep an eye on Kurokuma and push Towa Monaca in the "right direction."

Makoto laughs whenever he reads her text messages, where she talks about Monaca, or, as she calls her, Pickle Hair.

Most of her texts ask him why Junko had even saved Monaca. The other three she could understand, but he could tell she disliked Monaca.

Then again, she also disliked being around Class 77's Ultimate Luckster (or, as she calls him, Ultimate BS) Komaeda. Yet, she always seems to enjoy laughing at the fact that someone like Komaeda, who loves hope so much, is a member of Ultimate Despair.

 _'i'm glad you didn't turn out like him, mako-kun. :)'_

If he's being honest, Makoto would say that he's glad for it, too. A guy like him spouting crack about _hope?_ That sounds like a joke.

Naegi Makoto talks about hope.

 _Definitely_ worth the laugh.

 **/**

 _Emi runs into Naegi Komaru twice and Fukawa Touko once._

 _The first time she sees Komaru is on the ship with the Warriors of Hope. Even without knowing her name, she can semi-see the Mako-kun in the girl. She watches as Komaeda slaps the Monokuma bracelet onto her wrist, beginning the "demon hunt."_

 **/**

He gets a call on the phone ten weeks after Togami's last check-in.

Not his Future Foundation phone.

Thankfully, he's in his room when it rings, and it's nighttime. He infers that Emi-chan had Souda fix it so that she could call. Thankfully, Junko'd told him that the phone was one of those untraceable ones. Both of them are, actually, and they're perfect for the type of communication they're doing.

"Naegi Makoto speaking," he greets.

 _"Mah-kun...,"_ Emi replies, sounding like she's pouting.

 _"Nandesuka,_ Emi-chan?" Makoto pulls the Remnants file out of the drawer of his bedside table and quickly finds her picture.

 _"Why didn't you tell me?"_

"Tell you what?"

Emi huffs. _"You know_ exactly _what I'm talking about, Mako-kun!"_

"You tell me."

 _"I heard her."_

He almost stills, realizing _exactly_ what she's talking about.

 _"I heard her voice through Kurokuma."_

 _She went through with it,_ he thinks. _She actually went through with it._

 _"Mako-kun."_ Her voice is serious. _"Is she...?"_ Emi trails off, her voice lowering to a whisper.

And Makoto realizes that she's probably either still with Monaca and the other Warriors or back in her makeshift apartment. He quickly recovers before saying, "It's almost time for you to get caught by Future Foundation."

He can hear her freeze. _"But Mah-kun...you and Enoshima-sama said..."_

"'To work with Mioda and Saionji and stay as far away from Future Foundation as possible.' I know, but she made a back-up plan."

 _"A back-up plan?"_

"Yes, and you and the other Despairs are part of that back-up." He says nothing about Kamakura Izuru, since the Ultimate Hope (or Ultimate Ultimate) erased himself from their memories (but Makoto remembers. How could he not remember Kamakura-senpai, with his long black hair, red eyes, and all that talent?). "No one else is to know about this. Not even the others, all right?"

Her response is almost immediate. "Hai, _Mako-kun."_

He then tells her about Junko's back-up plan, but he leaves out his part of it.

 **/**

 _The second time Emi sees Komaru and the first time she sees Fukawa since before the Tragedy is, like her's and Komaru's first meeting, on the ship, except with Monaca and Kurokuma. The four are later joined by Towa Haiji and Utsugi Kotoko. At this point, she knows both who and what Kurokuma is._

 _Komaru is holding onto the controller. Monaca is smirking._

 _Emi is standing off in a corner of the room, silently laughing at Monaca's idea of Komaru being the successor to Enoshima-sama._

She really doesn't know, does she? _she wonders._

 _Emi watches as the fight between Monaca & Kurokuma (in a giant battle robot) and Komaru & Fukawa begins before slipping out and going back with Ibuki to perform their last concert._

 _The two singers are later caught by_ that group _in Ibuki's apartment._

At least I'll get to see Mako-kun again...

 **/**

Komaru is staying in Towa City. Same thing with Fukawa.

That's what Makoto had heard from Togami.

Future Foundation has captured all the Remnants.

They say Sato Emi and Mioda Ibuki were working on the next suicide symphony when the agents came. They say Emi put up a fight, nearly gave the agent tightly holding her a black eye.

Kirigiri says the agents who caught Emi brag about capturing her. Same thing with the ones who caught the other twelve.

Except for the ones who caught Kamakura. They apparently had gotten chills the moment the Ultimate Ultimate held out his hands to be cuffed without a word of protest or even a punch.

(exactly what makoto expects from kamakura-senpai.)

He hears all that from Kirigiri. It's like she's trying to gauge his reaction to his "past" girlfriend being captured. He only grins, lying that he's glad the Remnants are in Future Foundation custody. Once again, he mentions the idea of putting the despair group into the Neo-World Program.

(he knows it's the _perfect_ place to bring junko back, considering the fact that kamakura has both halves of her AI and it only has to be inserted into the program.)

She, of course, doesn't agree with it at first.

Two weeks later, however, is a different story.

Two weeks later, Makoto finds Kirigiri in his room, holding the phone he'd gotten from Junko before her execution. He sees her lavender eyes reading through the texts both he and Junko sent to Emi-chan.

"I didn't want to believe it," the detective states, finally looking up at him. "I didn't want to believe that Naegi Makoto, of all people, had fallen to despair."

"I didn't," he lies.

(he's gotten better at acting. he's practically _perfected_ it. in the mirror, in front of junko, in front of emi-chan. their other classmates are just his audience, junko told him repeatedly. _give them a show._ )

She looks like she almost buys it, but her indifferent mask is back on.

(maybe it's her own act, he thinks, letting him think he's won another day. she doesn't know that he's been patiently waiting for this day to come.)

"When did you fall to despair?"

He smirks. He isn't gonna reveal his whole backstory, wanting to let her find out on her own since he knows it's out there. "It wasn't during the game, if that's what you're thinking. My memory was erased just like yours, except I did it willingly and I got them back after my 'execution'. Honestly, if you came down just a few minutes earlier, you would've seen me all disoriented and 'Did I really do all that?'" He pokes fun at his 'hope-filled' self post-wipe, and he can see a hint of anger and annoyance through Kirigiri's indifferent mask. He puts his hands behind his head. "I can't believe you didn't catch me sooner, Kirigiri-san. I'm _beary_ disappointed in you."

"When did you start despairing, Naegi?"

He chuckles, almost an exact replica of Monokuma's (he relishes in her cringe), while looking down at his feet. "I'm pretty sure Future Foundation has a file on me somewhere. Just find it. Now," he pauses, looking up and letting her see his red eyes, "are ya gonna frickin' arrest me or not?"

Seeing that he isn't going to spill about his personal descent into despair, Kirigiri cuffs him and takes him to the cells, leading him past Hagakure, Asahina, and Togami. Makoto looks at each of his former classmates.

Hagakure looks about ready to freak out.

Asahina's eyes are wide, and her hands cover her mouth.

Togami's indifferent expression has cracked, his own eyes wide and jaw dropped in disbelief.

Makoto _smirks_ at the three of them as he's lead out of their sight.

 **/**

 _Hinata Hajime sees two students, a girl and a boy, standing next to the pool. The girl has red hair (darker than Koizumi's) done up in a ponytail,_ _wearing a skeleton feather print tank top covered by a faux leather zip-up motorcycle jacket, a black leather bracelet with an oil slick heart on her right wrist, rose gold music note necklace, ripped denim shorts, and black Converse. The boy has light brown hair with an ahoge (like he and Komaeda have), wearing a zipped-up dull green hoodie with a red stripe along the zipper, an open black jacket with gold buttons over the hoodie, black jeans, and red sneakers with white toes._

 _The two look to be a year younger than Hajime and the others. They're talking animatedly about some subject he's unable to catch before Komaeda catches their attention._

 _They face him, green eyes and pale hazel eyes lock on the older two._

 _The boy goes first, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry about that. My name's Naegi Makoto. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student," he greets._

 _"Ultimate Lucky Student?" Hajime questions, looking at Komaeda. "I thought you were the Ultimate Luck."_

 _"He is," Naegi explains. "I guess Emi and I were smart enough to be bumped up a grade or something."_

 _"Come on, Mako-kun,"_ _ _the redhead, Emi, replies. "You're totally smart."__

 _" _I'm unremarkable. My optimism is the only thing I got going for me."__

 _" _Don't mind him. He's just a dork sometimes. Anyway, I'm Sato Emi, the Ultimate Cover Singer. Nice to meet'cha! Let's be friends, okay?"__

 _" _Sure!" Hajime replies with a grin. "I'm sure we'll be great friends."__

* * *

 **Translation(s):**  
Nandesuka - What is it  
Hai - Yes

 **FUN FACT:** As mentioned before, this was originally going to be a trilogy with this part as the finale, but the thought of what would happen in this verse's version of the Neo-World Program wouldn't leave my mind. Then I started writing Makoto's descent into despair (which will be up soon), and it was in that SDR2 fic (which made it eight pages). So I just made it it's own fic. So, hope you enjoyed it, and stay classy!


	4. you're guaranteed to run this town

_**WARNING: Contains major character death, implied/referenced starvation, and blood and gore.**_ And spoilers to Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

 **A/N:** Welp, this is it.

This fic was definitely a hard one to find a cut-off point for. I've been working on this since November of last year, and I wasn't happy no matter what I did with it, so I put it off. Plus, a bunch of different things happened on my end of the Internet. My niece had to go to the hospital for a few weeks, so I had to go over to my oldest sister's house to watch my nephews. I had to practice for my church's Christmas play. Also I saw the Doctor Who Christmas special (and I LOVED it. Can't wait to see how Jodie Whittaker does as the Doctor!). Now, I'm sick.

I realize that's no excuse, but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Anyway, I _have_ thought about doing another part in this series that focuses on _Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy Future/Hope Arc._ I'm actually working on it right now. It won't focus on the Future Foundation Killing Game, though.

 **DISCLAIMER:** Nothing except Emi Sato, her backstory, and the idea are mine. I only play in the despair-filled Pepto Bismol colored murder sandbox known as Danganronpa. The title comes from "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" by Panic! At the Disco.

 _ **Chapter Summary:**_ _"So, she's on an island, and she's okay with that. Sato Emi loves vacations. Almost as much as singing."_

or; the recovery of the remnants.

* * *

 **you're guaranteed to run this town (i'd pay to see you frown)**

 _Say what you mean_  
 _Tell me I'm right_  
 _And let the sun rain down on me_  
 _Give me a sign_  
 _I want to believe_

 ** _"The Ballad of Mona Lisa" - Panic! At The Disco_**

So, she's on an island, and she's okay with that.

Sato Emi loves vacations. Almost as much as singing.

At least she's free from her parents.

However, it seems she and one Ultimate Luckster, Naegi Makoto, are the youngest students on the island.

 _Maybe it's because we were smart enough to be bumped up a grade,_ her brain reasons, and she accepts it without question.

She recognizes a few from popular media: a traditional dancer, a musician, a team manager (not that she paid much attention to sports), and a princess (Sonia Nevermind is definitely as beautiful as they say).

Others have names that stick out in her mind, Togami and Kuzuryu in particular.

(Of course Kuzuryu would stick out. He's a yakuza, for cryin' out loud! And the Togami Corporation is the richest company in the country. She remembers seeing the name plastered all over the arenas her parents took her to before going to Hope's Peak.)

She has no problem getting along with her seventeen classmates (the largest at Hope's Peak Academy, if that white rabbit, Usami, is to be believed), but she can tell something's off about Komaeda Nagito, the other Ultimate Luckster, despite his cheerful demeanor.

However, that all changes when that bear appears and changes Usami to Monomi (shame, Emi _really_ likes that rabbit).

 _In order to leave the island, you gotta kill your friends!_

The statement shocks her to the core, and she grabs Naegi's hand without a second thought, though he looks just as pale as she does.

 **/**

 _"I read your report. Is it true?"_

 _"I'm afraid it is. I saw his text messages to her."_

 _"And you confronted him about this?"_

 _"Yes, and he didn't deny it. However, he didn't tell me when it happened."_

 _"Then...if he was one of them...just how deep does it go?"_

 **/**

The very next person Emi becomes friends with (right after Naegi and Hinata) is Mioda Ibuki. It almost is expected, Ultimate Musician and Ultimate Cover Singer, and they're almost as thick as thieves. The four almost always sit together at breakfast, and Nanami Chiaki joins them (when Emi's alone with Hinata, she jokes about his clear crush on the Ultimate Gamer, and Hinata jokes right back about her almost constant blush whenever Naegi looks her way).

Their friendship seems so easy. There's no way they could kill one another. After all, both Hinata and Naegi don't seem like the murdering types.

 _(a small part of her brain whispers, in a low voice, that she's wrong.)_

 **/**

Apparently, they've lost all their memories of their time at Hope's Peak Academy thanks to Monomi (if Monokuma's right).

Emi almost screams. Was her first day at Hope's Peak her first taste of freedom?

Why would she have to forget _that?_

 **/**

Parties are nice.

Emi likes parties. With this party, she can now add Hanamura's cooking to her ever expanding list of likes. Everyone's having fun, especially Saionji.

The strange thing is Togami confiscated everything that could be considered dangerous. Yet she could semi-understand that he just wants to protect everyone from being murdered.

Still, no one's gonna die tonight, right?

And the power goes out.

She can hear everyone talking (freaking out), and then the lights come back on...

...and Tsumiki trips, a plate of food landing in just the right spot to cover her underwear.

Just minutes after both Emi and Koizumi help her up, the body of Togami Byakuya is found lying dead under the table in the corner.

And the Monokuma announcement goes off.

 **/**

 _"How did this happen?"_

 _"...We don't know."_

 _"Then we've got to find out. Or they're all gone for good."_

 **/**

Someone is screaming.

 _Emi,_ Emi is screaming, and she falls to the floor. She barely knew the guy, and she's screaming.

( _not the first time you've seen a dead body,_ that small part of her mind whispers.)

Soda's freaking out, and Tsumiki has tears in her eyes, and Emi is screaming while Naegi holds her and Monokuma adds the Monokuma File to their notepads.

She has to know who did this. She has no choice.

Because one of them did this.

 **/**

Komaeda's laughing at them, at everyone.

She _knew_ there was something wrong with the kid from the moment they met. However, something tells her that, despite Komaeda's crazy talk about _hope_ and the fact that he'd planned on killing Togami, he isn't the killer.

 **/**

It's Hanamura Teruteru.

He's the one that killed Togami. He did it to stop Komaeda and to find out what happened to his mother and his family's restaurant.

And he's egged, breaded, and fried in a volcano as punishment.

It's not right, _it's not fair._

 **/**

Who would kill over a _video game?_

She plays it only out of curiousity, and Monokuma says it's based on an actual event? The thing makes no sense anyway, going from day two then day four. She shakes her head, deciding it's best not to think about it.

Besides, Sonia had invited her, along with the other girls to a girls-only party at Chandler Beach. Of course, she finds Soda, Hinata, and Naegi at the meeting point (aka the restaurant on the second island).

(she's wearing a black lace up off the shoulder one piece swimsuit instead of a bikini and carrying a bottle of sunscreen in her hand, because _"I don't tan, Soda-kun. I burn.",_ and a plain t-shirt in the other.)

Mioda, Nanami, Owari, Pekoyama, and Sonia join the group (Emi gets a kick out of Souda's disappointment at the fact that Sonia's wearing a wetsuit instead of a bikini) before they all walk to the beach...

...and Emi finds Koizumi Mahiru in the beach house, covered in blood, a steel baseball bat at her side, mirroring the game's second victim.

 **/**

Koizumi was taken too quickly.

The blame is first put onto Saionji, since a gummy was found at the crime scene and the bratty dancer loves gummies. And Soda, Hinata, and Naegi saw her running from the beach with tears in her eyes.

However, Saionji also cared about, and loved, Koizumi, and she starts pointing fingers until the real culprit becomes clear.

 **/**

Pekoyama Peko killed Koizumi Mahiru on behalf of her master, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko, because she covered up a murder that a friend of her's committed.

But they didn't realize it at first, and the Ultimate Swordswoman pretends to be the famed serial killer Sparkling Justice. All of them, including Emi, choose her as the culprit, ignoring Sonia's pleas until the votes had been cast..

 _..._ _because Sparkling Justice isn't Japanese._

Yet, Pekoyama faces Monokuma's endless hordes of robotic soldiers with little emotion, slicing each robot as Kuzuryu runs toward her.

(Emi can still hear his grief-stricken desperate pleas in her ears.)

Pekoyama slashes one of the robots, and Kuzuryu is right behind it. He falls unconscious, and the swordswoman uses her body as a shield to protect him as the robots stabbed her to death.

And Monokuma takes Kuzuryu away to save him.

 **/**

 _"Where's my brother?"_

 _"...He's recovering."_

 _"Seriously? Him? That's gotta be a joke."_

 _"I wish it was, Fukawa."_

 _"You mean he's...?"_

 _"I'm afraid so."_

 **/**

Owari tries to beat up Monokuma at the beach.

(it's against the rules to attack the headmaster. She knows it.)

Everyone, except for Komaeda, is freaking out and runs to the scene. Right when Monokuma's about to hit the gymnast with a powerful move, Nidai jumps in and takes the hit.

And Monokuma takes him away, too.

 **/**

Emi wakes up in the hospital, completely and utterly confused. However, Monokuma shows up and drags her to the music venue she and Ibuki had sung at two days ago (was it longer? She can't tell. Last she remembered she was freezing). The moment she arrives and sees Mioda Ibuki hanging from a noose and Saionji Hiyoko strapped to a pole, her neck bleeding...

...she collapses to the floor, her hands clenching into fists.

 **/**

Naegi fills her in about the Despair Disease. Apparently, it made Owari a coward, Komaeda a liar, Ibuki gullible, and herself shy and flirty around Naegi and the others, girls included for whatever reason she didn't understand. Tsumiki even said Emi'd flirted with her and Naegi more than the others.

 **/**

Tsumiki Mikan is the murderer of Mioda Ibuki and Saionji Hiyoko, saying she did it for her beloved.

 _"They weren't just_ my _beloved, you know?"_ she says, looking over at Naegi and Emi. _"They were yours, too, Emi-chan and Naegi-kun. I didn't mind sharing them with you."_

Emi gets a chill down her spine (is it fear or pleasure? She can't tell the difference), and her face heats up in a blush. She can see that Naegi has the same reaction, even as the metal claw drags Tsumiki away.

 **/**

She's sent off into space, and it feels awfully familiar.

 **/**

Nidai comes back as a robot, complete with cola and tea dispensers for eyes, a radio clock with an alarm embedded in his chest, and a "Good Night Button" on the back of his neck that'll immediately knock him unconscious.

Emi almost laughs, and she's glad that Nidai's back.

 _Better a robot than dead,_ she thinks.

 **/**

She's hungry.

She's _so_ hungry.

So's everyone, they're all dying of starvation.

In a Funhouse, no less.

This is the first real motive, Emi thinks, this is where it gets real.

They're doing Tai Chi every morning, they're all starving, her stomach is caving in on itself, and, for the first time since Monokuma talked about it, she thinks about trying to go into the Final Dead Room.

 **/**

 _Emi dreams of a girl her age sitting on a throne, her strawberry blond hair done up in twintails. The girl claps and jumps down to her, kissing Emi right on the lips. The blond's hands are holding her shirt. Real-life Emi is shocked and jumps, but dream-Emi sighs and grabs the other girl's twintails, and—_

—Emi wakes up, panting heavily and clutching her sweat-drenched shirt. That couldn't be real, right? She doesn't like girls that way...

(the camera in the corner of her room is staring at her, and the AI watching her chuckles at her confusion. _"I know you remember me, Emi-chan."_ )

 **/**

" _It looks like she still remembers her. I thought that her memory was blocked."_

" _There's a possibility that_ she _might have something to do with it because it looks like he remembers as well."_

" _She might've actually cared about them, especially given the fact that she wanted him to be the one to kill her."_

" _You mean that..."_

" _Yes, I mean precisely that."_

 **/**

 _We just got him back,_ she thinks as she looks down at him. _It's not fair._

She doesn't even scream. She can't scream anymore as she shovels food into her mouth.

Nidai Nekomaru lies dead on the floor, wires wrapped around his body and his leg. Both his head and his other foot have come off, and blue oil has leaked onto the floor.

 **/**

Tanaka Gundham is the murderer this time. He and Nidai had a duel to "win the rights to keep living," and Tanaka emerged as the victor, using the secret of the Funhouse (what Monokuma called the Ultimate Weapon) to kill Nidai.

However, throughout the whole investigation and trial, Komaeda had acted haughty and easily irritated toward everyone, even pushing Monokuma for Tanaka's execution. He even mocks Hinata's lack of talent.

Emi makes a mental note to keep a close eye on him, despite how much she dislikes him.

 **/**

 _"It also appears her disgust of him still remains despite the wipe."_

 _"Well, her feelings for him are still there. Along with his feelings for her."_

 _"I can see that as well. Guess they were meant for each other."_

 _"Yeah, it's too bad she got in the way."_

 **/**

He's run over by a stampede of animals, and Emi can't help but feel hollow.

 **/**

Komaeda is going to bomb the entire island.

Not unless the traitor comes forward.

They all rush to the factory, after finding out the bomb is there.

Emi, on the other hand, has a feeling about where Komaeda is ( _"I'll be right there, Mako-kun. I promise."_ ) and runs into the warehouse. She's shocked by the set-up. However, before she can run to tell the others, she's knocked down to the ground and the last thing she sees before she falls unconscious is Komaeda's hate-filled gaze.

 **/**

The bomb's a fake.

Naegi Makoto wants to punch Komaeda, but he's gotta find him first. He, along with the others (except Emi. Where is she?), runs toward the warehouse and try to open the door, but it won't open.

Owari bashes the door down. There's ominous music, and the warehouse catches on fire.

It's burning to the ground, they're trying to put it out, but it's not working.

And Komaeda Nagito is dead.

The body discovery announcement goes off.

 **/**

There's eight of them left.

Eight.

Makoto knows that's how many of them are left, and that's why he's running back to get Emi _because she's back in her room..._

...but the sound of a second body discovery announcement stops him in his tracks, and he runs back to the warehouse.

The moment he steps inside, Naegi Makoto falls to the ground.

Sato Emi is dead. She's been stabbed multiple times in the arms and chest, the words "TRAITOR TO HOPE" shakily written in pink blood on her arm.

Eight is now seven.

And Makoto screams.

 **/**

Who did it? Who killed Komaeda Nagito and Sato Emi?

Was it Komaeda himself?

Was it all of them?

(Makoto can't bear the idea that he killed Emi. He doesn't like seeing two microphones stamped across her picture in the shape of an "X". Komaeda, he could, for how he acted and for sending them on a wild goose chase.)

Then, Hinata asks Monokuma, "Are there two killers in this case?"

The bear is silent for a moment before he answers, "Yes. First you vote for who killed Sato Emi, then you vote for who killed Komaeda Nagito."

The answer for who killed Emi is so simple, Makoto realizes. "The one who killed Sato Emi is Komaeda Nagito."

"If Komaeda killed Emi, then who killed Komaeda?" Souda inquires.

They don't know, they don't know.

The other pieces fall into place because of the realization that Komaeda killed Emi, but they don't know who killed Komaeda.

"Maybe it's the traitor," Nanami points out.

The traitor...

Who is it?

"Maybe the traitor can't reveal themselves. Maybe they aren't able," Nanami suggests.

And then it becomes obvious, but Makoto can't make himself do it. Neither can Hinata, he realizes, but the former Reserve Course student does it anyway, tears flooding his eyes.

 **/**

Komaeda Nagito killed Sato Emi. Nanami Chiaki killed Komaeda Nagito.

Nanami Chiaki is the traitor.

Nanami Chiaki is smiling.

 **/**

She, along with the last Monomi, gets crushed by a Tetris piece, and the row explodes.

 _(Hajime feels numb as the tears fall down his face.)_

 **/**

There are six of them left, when they discover they're in a simulation.

There are six of them left, when they discover that Nanami Chiaki is an artificial intelligence.

There are six of them left, when they discover that each and every one of them is Ultimate Despair.

And Naegi Makoto and Sato Emi were Enoshima Junko's lovers and co-heads of Ultimate Despair.

Naegi Makoto can only feel sick.

 **/**

Six against the mastermind.

(against Makoto's crazy ex-girlfriend)

Makoto, the luckster. Sonia, the princess. Souda, the mechanic. Owari, the gymnast. Kuzuryu, the yakuza. Hinata, the ultimate.

Six against Enoshima Junko, who is Ultimate Despair.

 **/**

The Future Foundation comes to their rescue, to shut down the program. Kirigiri Kyoko, Togami Byakuya (the _real_ one, much to everyone's shock), and Hagakure Yasuhiro all join hands with the remnants, and together, they execute AI Enoshima Junko.

 **/**

Instead of rejoining Future Foundation (as he really is, instead of a brainwashed lover of Enoshima's), Makoto decides to stay with Hinata and the others on the _real_ Jabberwock Island (it's a really weird concept for him to get used to), and he sits by Emi's pod. Not too far away, Kuzuryu sits by Pekoyama's pod. The yakuza had taken off his eyepatch, revealing his scar.

(Of course, Makoto had commented about how badass it looks despite the backstory to it, and Kuzuryu had only laughed.)

Nearby, Hinata is putting his own AI into the mainframe (ironically, he's called it "World Ender," something that got a chuckle from the others) to bring back the ones who died. He still looks like Hinata Hajime, except that his left eye is red. He'd cut his "senpai" hair, as Makoto had jokingly called it (which earned him a punch to the arm, courtesy of Hinata), and changed it back to his normal spiky brown.

Makoto is holding onto a box of red hair dye as he stares at Emi's unmoving body, which Asahina had given to him _("She'll probably want to change it back," she'd said with a grin.)._ Her whole body looks green, thanks to the glass.

"She'll be waking up soon, Naegi," Hinata tells him with a grin as he sits next to the younger boy. "They'll all be waking up soon."

However, Makoto can see the sad look hidden behind his reassuring grin, but he doesn't comment on it, instead choosing to give him a reassuring pat on the leg in return.

Five minutes later, the pods open, and Makoto sees those emerald eyes again as he pulls her up out of her pod. And he holds her as he apologizes, afraid to let her go again.

And Sato Emi forgives him wholeheartedly.

* * *

 **Just letting you know, this fic was written before the US release of Danganronpa V3, so I wasn't sure how to handle the "two blackened in one trial" scenario since it hadn't been done before. Therefore, I just came up with a solution while writing the trial.**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this series, and I'll do my best to finish a few more chapters of "Sun Set" (because I only have three chapters done, and they're the interludes!), _especially_ since Okami HD is now on Steam (the keyboard controls are sooooo weird, mind you I previously played it on the Wii three times). Anyway, I'll see you guys next fic. DFTBA and stay classy!**


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